Heaven Dust 2 Review

Game: Heaven Dust 2
Genre: Adventure, Action, Puzzle
System: Nintendo Switch (Also on Steam (Windows) & Xbox)
Developer|Publisher: One Gruel Studio | Indienova
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US Teen
Price: US $14.99 | UK £13.49 | EU € 14,99
Release Date: January 6th, 2022

Review code provided with many thanks to Indienova.

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The original Heaven Dust was a 3D survival horror game made by a very small development team. As a fan of the genre, I was instantly drawn to this since it takes heavy inspiration from the original Resident Evil games which I played obsessively as a youngster. Fun fact; this was the game that originally drew me to this very website when I was searching for reviews.

It’s rare to see games get the mix of combat and puzzle balanced. Most horror games today focus too much on running and hiding and others lean a little too far into action. Heaven Dust was by no means a perfect game but it was a great start for the team. I honestly did not expect a sequel, but I was hugely excited when I heard it was announced in late December 2021. Heaven Dust 2 is an excellent sequel that improves on the first game in almost every way. So let’s explore further.

Another Rough Night For Steve

Playing as spiky-haired Steve. Heaven Dust 2 picks up after the events of the first game. After surviving the mansion incident Steve now finds himself waking up in yet another zombie-infested establishment. This guy really can’t catch a break! It’s a pretty by the numbers story of finding an escape route and learning more about the zombies and the people responsible by reading notes and diaries scattered around the place. I will give credit that this method of storytelling is still very effective today.

The plot overall will not particularly surprise you but it does the job. If this is your first foray into the world of Heaven Dust you really don’t need much knowledge of the first game. In fact, early on you find notes that quite literally sum up the small plot from those events if you need a refresher. 

Controls 

Heaven Dust 2 has had an enormous overhaul of its gameplay compared to the first game. What remains is a nice balance of combat and puzzles making for a pretty darn good survival horror experience. Steve has limited inventory space so you need to balance carrying ammo, health items and key items. Unlike the first game, weapons don’t take up an item slot. If your pockets get too full you can stop off at a nearby storage chest to stash items for later.

Controls are pretty straight forward and if you do have a brain fart the menu will provide a gentle reminder of all the buttons. Movement is more modernized than the old school tank controls making this quite accessible to newcomers of the genre. The game also offers a handy map for you to track your progress through the game, even marking any items you decided not to pick up.

Combat

It feels like the developers had a really good look at the original game and thought carefully about what could be improved. Let’s start with the combat. You can carry four guns, which you collect gradually through the course of the game. These can also be upgraded at a workbench by finding mods scattered around the facility. You can equip these easily with a tap of the up/down buttons on the D-pad, which is very handy when things get hectic. You can also use a knife for a quick melee strike and even throw two types of grenades. Unlike the first game, you can now aim your weapon and shoot. Hover your cursor long enough over the enemy and it will home in on the enemies weak spot to deliver a deadly hit. But by waiting for this, the enemy will gradually edge closer.

The game has multiple enemies to contend with, not just the usual zombies. You have mutated variants with exoskeletons, dog-like monsters, Ent like creatures and some pretty challenging giant boss encounters. Each enemy is weak to a specific weapon or grenade type making fights more varied and engaging. You can pull through if you lack the correct grenade or weapon but this usually comes at a great cost to your ammo. If all else fails you can always try to run. Being a survival horror you need to try to make every bullet count, especially on higher difficulty settings. 

Exploration and Puzzles

The other side to the game is puzzle solving. There are several moments where you need to find a code for a door or move some statues and push some blocks. The game puts a great emphasis on exploration to solve the puzzles. Pay close attention to the environment, or maybe those water fountains, and it will give you the hint you need.

Notes will also provide very useful insight into puzzle solutions. There were moments where I did hit a wall and a code I thought would work on a door didn’t. But by walking away and exploring elsewhere the solution kinda presented itself. I highly recommend trying to play this without a guide as it’s a pretty good feeling when the light bulb finally goes off in your head. 

Cute Characters in the Darkness

Graphics are also an upgrade from the original game. The game is presented in a very dark facility filled with various houses, cemeteries and secret facilities to explore. It makes great use of lighting, though in handheld mode it felt a little too dark at times. The character models are more refined but still maintain that chibi/funko style cute design. It certainly softens the horror feeling of the game. I have to say I really dug this style and I kinda hope the developers stick with it in the future. The horror vibes are elevated with excellent use of sound. From Steve’s footsteps, as he explores the empty corridors, the reload sound of the guns to the growls you hear in the distance it certainly creates the right atmosphere of a sinister facility. 

Niggles

Heaven Dust 2 doesn’t quite escape the odd niggle here and there. I wasn’t too keen on how health was displayed. Unlike the first game that used the heart monitor to clearly show your health, this time you need to monitor Steve’s face in the button on the left corner of the screen. The more dishevelled he is, the closer you are to death. The trouble is this picture is very small, especially in handheld mode and wasn’t the best indicator.

The other niggle is the game’s isometric viewpoint. With the game being so dark it was quite hard to see which rooms you could enter, particularly ones at the bottom of the screen. The game is also not shy to have you enter a door and do a typical gotcha moment with an enemy. I would highly recommend saving often. 

Content

For the main campaign, you are looking between eight to ten hours the first time through. You need to save at designated tape stations scattered generously around the map. But the game does autosave before and after major boss encounters to avoid some nasty frustration. It also offers multiple difficulty settings suited to casual players and veterans of the genre. There are two endings to discover and extras to unlock on your second run through the game. I can see myself heading back through this again as the campaign feels a nice tidy length.

Conclusion – An Excellent Sequel

Heaven’s Dust 2 is a brilliant sequel improving in practically all aspects of the original game. This is a great nod to old school survival horror whilst also providing necessary modernization to the controls and gameplay. I was highly impressed with this title and with this sequel, it feels Heavens Dust is now worthy of its own identity in the genre. If the developers continue to make sequels I’ll certainly be back for more.

Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot